Voice/data-formatted telephone information storage and retrieval system

ABSTRACT

A synthesized message storage and retrieval .Iadd.system .Iaddend.generates response messages by concatentating a sequence of words that have been recorded in digital memory in the voice of the operator in accordance with prescribed inflection characteristics. By linking together phrases or words having selectively chosen inflections in the voice of the operator, the resulting vocalized message will more naturally simulate the manner of speech of the operator and thereby provide a more realistic verbalization of the message to the customer. In accordance with the communications functionality of the operator&#39;s voice message mechanism, the system performs a plurality of tasks for the operator, including automatically answering all incoming calls with a prerecorded phrase dependent on the type of call being serviced and, by means of an auxiliary audio interface with the call director, the output message can be delivered to the customer whether or not the operator is connected to the call. In addition, rather than audibly vocalizing the message out to the calling subscriber, when retrieved from memory the contents of the message are transmitted in digital format, so that they may be captured and visually indicated to the customer via a digital display provided in the calling subscriber&#39;s telephone equipment.

.Iadd.This is a continuation of Reissue application Ser. No. 07/870,580,filed Apr. 17, 1992, now abandoned, which application is a Reissue ofU.S. Pat. No. 4,918,322, granted on Apr. 17, 1990, of Walter W. Winteret al for a VOICE/DATA-FORMATTED TELEPHONE INFORMATION STORAGE ANDRETRIEVAL SYSTEM. .Iaddend.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION:

The present invention relates, in general, to telephone systems, and isparticularly directed to a call answering system through whichinformation requested by a calling subscriber, such as directoryassistance information, may be selectively returned to the calling partyas an audio message in the operator's voice or in digital format to becaptured and displayed at the calling party's equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Operator-assisted telephone service facilities, such as directoryassistance, toll service and private branch exchanges, require that theservicing operator handle a large number of similar, (effectivelymonotonous routine) calls during the operator's work period. In adirectory assistance position, where the monotony problem isparticularly acute, it has been common practice to provide the operatorwith a mechanized voice storage and retrieval unit (commonly referred toas an automatic response unit, or ARU) which, when accessed from theoperator's terminal position (simultaneously releasing the operator tohandle another call), assembles a verbalized response message bystringing together a series of prerecorded or synthesized words,typically comprised of an introductory phrase (such as "The number is")followed by a sequence of numerical digits, and couples this`android-sounding`audio message to an automated call director (switch)for application over the telephone line to the calling party.

Now, although the use of an automatic response unit provides someassistance to the operator, from the customer's standpoint itsmechanical sounding voice is not only unattractive (and a confusingchange from the voice of the operator), but often, to the customer'sear, is of such inferior quality that the customer stays on the line tohear a repeat of the message or until the operator picks up the call andhandles the inquiry directly. In either of these events, there is adelay in providing the intended service, which incurs the penalty ofuser dissatisfaction and lost revenue. Of course, there are manyoccasions in which the ARU cannot be used to meet the customer's needs,as in the case of a multiple directory number request and forinformation other than that which has been previously recorded andstored. Under such circumstances it is necessary for direct operatorparticipation; still, the basic information supply exercise conducted bythe operator, e.g. that of retrieving a number or address from adatabase and delivering (speaking) that information to the customer, isthe same as when using the ARU.

Advantageously, a considerable aspect of the problem, particularly thequality of the synthesized message vocalized to the customer, isaddressed by the telephone operator voice storage and retrieval systemdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,623,761, issued Nov. 18, 1986 and4,697,282, issued Sept. 29, 1987, and assigned to the assignee of thepresent application. Pursuant to the patented scheme, messages to beplayed back to the customer are prerecorded (digitized and stored incomputer-addressable memory) in the voice of the operator who is on-lineduring the servicing of the call, so that, when retrieved andsynthesized out to the calling party, the played-back messages areeffectively indistinguishable from the live voice of the operator, thuspresenting a realistic audio message to the subscriber, which not onlyavoids customer confusion, but reduces revenue-impacting delay time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

Pursuant to a first aspect of the present invention, the ..`personalized`voice.!. .Iadd.`personalized voice`.Iaddend.characteristics of the above-identified patented system are extended toa synthesized message storage and retrieval system in which customerresponse messages (such as a directory assistance-requested number) aregenerated by concatenating a sequence of words that have been recordedin digital memory in the voice of the operator and selectively accessedfrom memory in accordance with prescribed inflection (rising, falling,neutral) characteristics. By linking together phrases or words havingselectively chosen inflections in the voice of the operator,particularly sequences of numbers (in reply to a directory assistancerequest), the resulting vocalized message will more naturally simulatethe manner of speech of the operator and thereby provide a morerealistic verbalization of the message to the customer. In accordancewith the communications functionality of the operator's voice messageassembly mechanism, the system performs a plurality of tasks for theoperator, including automatically answering all incoming calls with aprerecorded phrase dependent on the type of call being serviced and, bymeans of an auxiliary audio interface with the call director, the outputmessage can be delivered to the customer whether or not the operator isconnected to the call.

Pursuant to a second feature of the invention, rather than audiblyvocalizing the message out to the calling subscriber, when retrievedfrom memory the contents of the message are transmitted in digitalformat, so that they may be captured and visually indicated to thecustomer via a digital display provided in the calling subscriber'stelephone equipment. In the course of use of the digital communicationmechanism, in response to an incoming call, an inquiry is sent to thecalling subscriber's equipment to determine whether it has thecapability of receiving digital data communications. If it does, thenthe operator may choose to forward the answer to the caller's inquiry asa data communications message, which can be transmitted in a shortertime than required to vocalize out the requested information and,because it is captured and stored by the calling party's equipment, iscontinuously available to be read by the calling party, until cleared.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a telephone communication pathbetween a calling subscriber and an operator/switch position coupledwith a voice/data-formatted information storage and retrieval system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates the make-up of avoice/data-formatted telephone information storage and retrieval systemin accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates the configuration of a telephonehandset having digital communication and display capability.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

Before describing in detail the particular improved voice/data-formattedtelephone information storage and retrieval system in accordance withthe present invention, it should be observed that the present inventionresides primarily in a novel structural combination of conventionaldata/signal processing components and communication circuits and not inthe particular detailed configurations thereof. Accordingly, thestructure, control and arrangement of these conventional circuits andcomponents have been illustrated in the drawings by readilyunderstandable block diagrams which show only those specific detailsthat are pertinent to the present invention, so as not to obscure thedisclosure with structural details which will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein.Thus, the block diagram illustrations of the FIGS. do not necessarilyrepresent the mechanical structural arrangement of the exemplary system,but are primarily intended to illustrate the major structural componentsof the system in a convenient functional grouping, whereby the presentinvention may be more readily understood.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a diagrammatic illustration of atelephone communication path through which a calling subscriber 10accesses a telephone service facility 20 in order to obtain informationsupplied by that facility. For the purpose of providing an exemplaryenvironment in which the present invention may be applied, in thedescription to follow it will be assumed that the accessed operatorposition is a directory assistance position. However, it should berealized that the invention is not limited to such a facility, but maybe utilized with substantially any information facility where operatorassistance is employed for the retrieval of information from a storeddatabase. The telephone service facility 20 itself contains aconventional arrangement of an operator terminal 11, which is linked inthe customary manner of a present day communication link (e.g. an ISDNlink), via voice and data channels 12 and 14, respectively, to anautomated call director or switch 13 such as a 5ESS manufactured byAT&T. Switch 13, in turn, is coupled to an incoming telephone link 23through which calling subscriber 10 communicates with service facility20.

As will be described below with reference to FIG. 3, where the telephoneequipment 21 employed by calling subscriber 10 is a digital unit, havingmessage buffer and display capability, the operator may selectivelyinitiate return of requested information in digital format, rather thana verbalized message, In such a situation, the processing of a directoryassistance request, including capture and display of the datarepresenting the response to the directory assistance request at thecalling subscriber's unit 21, would be accomplished effectivelyimmediately, so that the next call awaiting service could be handledmore quickly.

As pointed out above, the overall communication path through which theservice facility operator and the calling subscriber are connected andcommunicate with one another, including terminal 11, audio and datachannels 12 and 14, switch 13 and telephone link 23 is conventional. Inaddition, normally interfaced with the operator terminal 11 and switch13 there would be an automatic response unit (not shown) that isselectively accessed by the operator to provide a mechanized voicemessage response containing the requested directory information throughswitch 13 over line 23 to the calling subscriber. In the systemconfiguration shown in FIG. 1, however, in place of this conventional,limited capability automatic response unit, there is provided aprocessor-based . .`personalized`voice.!. .Iadd.`personalizedvoice`.Iaddend./data response unit 15, to be described in detail belowwith reference to FIG. 2, which is coupled with operator terminal 11 andswitch 13 and which has the dual capability of assembling and audiblyverbalizing a directory assistance message from a stored digital database, in the voice of the terminal operator who is on-line with thecalling subscriber, and of selectively forwarding a digitally formattedmessage containing the requested information to the calling subscriberfor capture and display at a digital telephone set.

For this purpose, voice/data response unit 15 is coupled with each ofaudio channel 11 and data channel 14 of the communications link betweenoperator terminal 11 and switch 13. Audio channel 12 couples audio (e.g.voice) signals between the operator (headset) and the voice link throughthe switch, while data channel 14 carries the digital control signalsthrough which the data/signal processing components of terminal 11 andswitch 13 communicate with one another in the course of the intercept,processing and release of a call. (As noted above, both the hardware andthe signal processing and communication mechanisms employed for thispurpose are conventional and will not be detailed here, as a descriptionof the same is unnecessary for understanding the present invention.)Through its connection to audio channel 12, voice/data response unit 15is able to receive (for storage and later on-line playback) words andphrases that are voiced by the operator and to couple played-back voicemessages to the audio channel through which the operator and callingsubscriber converse with one another. Data channel 14 is used to coupledigital signals generated at the operator terminal 11 (i.e. keyboardinitiated) for controlling the operation . .o.!. .Iadd.of .Iaddend.unit15.

Voice/data response unit 15 is also directly interfaced with switch 13through a dedicated audio link 16 and a pair of input and output datalinks 17 and 18, respectively. Audio link 16 serves to couple eithervoice or digitally formatted messages from voice/data response unit 15to switch 13 for application to link 23 and transmission to the callingsubscriber 10, without interfacing such messages to the audio link withthe operator. Link 16 is similar to the connection of a conventionalautomatic response unit to the switch, which supplies a prerecordedmechanical voice message to the subscriber in response to a keyed inputfrom the operator (who normally simultaneously releases from the call).However, unlike a conventional automatic response unit, the messagecoupled over link 16 to switch 13 may be transmitted in digital format(for capture and display by a digital capability telephone set) or, inaudio format, in which case it is assembled from a database that causesthe played back message to be verbalized in the voice of the operatorwho is on line with the subscriber. Links 17 and 18 are digital controllinks through which the switch 13 and unit 15 conduct communicationcontrol operations.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the configuration of voice/data response unit15 is shown as comprising a (digital/analog, analog/digital) formatconversion unit 30 comprised of respective analyzer and synthesizerchips 31 and 33 (both OKI SEMI.M5218), which are coupled between audiolink 12 and an internal digital communications bus 35 within unit 15.Under the control of an internal microprocessor 41 (INTEL 8086), thecontrol program for which is stored in PROM 47 (INTEL 2764), digitizerchip 31 converts messages voiced by the operator into digital format,the digitized messages being stored in (semiconductor) random accessmemory 43 (RAM) (HITACHI HM50464) or disk (e.g. floppy, hard or optical)(SEAGATE 225) memory 45. Typically, RAM 43 is used to store abbreviated(on the order of several to ten seconds in duration), frequentlyaccessed words and phrases, while disk memory 45 may store relativelylengthy (20 seconds to several minutes), less often used sentences, thedelay in initiating the playback of which is not critical, as in thecase of very brief phrase retrieved from RAM 43. Synthesizer chip 33converts (. .r.!. .Iadd.or .Iaddend.verbalizes) digitally encodedmessage data accessed from one of memories 43 and 45 into audio formatfor application to audio link 12. In effect, the message storage andretrieval mechanism embodied in the communication path between operatorterminal 11 (via audio link 12) and voice/data response unit correspondsto that described in the above-reference Winter et al patents, asmessages to be played back to the calling subscriber are stored in thevoice of the operator who is on line and services the call and areselectively accessed from memory and verbalized back to the callingparty (and operator simultaneously via audio link 12) in accordance withinformation contained in the incoming call.

In addition, during the recording process, the operator voices the wordcomponents of which the messages are made in a number of differentinflections (e.g. low, neutral and high), so that the control softwarethrough which processor 41 causes the message components to be accessedfrom memory and joined together or concatenated (e.g. the phrase: "Thenumber is: 555-1212" is formed by concatenating the message components:`the`, `number`, `is`, `five` (repeated twice), `one`, `two`, `one` and`two`) my create a response message that sounds `personalized` or human.Thus, in the case of the parenthetical example, the high inflectionversions of the word `five` and the word `two` may be accessed frommemory to verbalize the last "5" and each occurrence of the number "2"in the message sequence, so as to more realistically recreate a typicalhuman speech pattern.

As pointed out above, in addition to verbalizing response messagesaccessed from digital memory in the voice of the on-line operator (withrealistic inflections of the message components) voice/data responseunit 15 may selectively cause a response message to be coupled indigital communications format directly to switch 13, exclusive of audiocommunications link 12, for transmission from the switch 13 overtelephone link 23 to calling subscriber 10, whereby the response messagemay be captured and displayed to the caller by way of a digitalcommunications device 21 provided at the location from which the calling. .subscribe.!. .Iadd.subscriber .Iaddend.accesses facility 20.

For this purpose, voice/data response unit 15 is coupled to switch 13 byway of an auxiliary (audio band) link 16 over which both voice anddigitally formatted messages may be coupled to switch 13. Auxiliary link16 is interfaced with the internal memory of voice/data response unit 15by way of a modem 51 and a second synthesizer chip 53. Modem 51preferably comprises a conventional Bell 212A modem (XECOM XE1212),through which digitally formatted messages accessed from internal memory(RAM 43 or disk memory 45) are transmitted via link 16 and switch 13 tothe telephone link 23, and through which incoming communication messagesfrom the remote subscriber set 21 (e.g. a response to a query from unit15 as to whether remote set 21 possesses digital communication anddisplay capability) are received and coupled to control processor 41.Synthesizer 53 chip is identical to synthesizer chip 33 within formatconversion unit 30 and is used when verbalizing a response messagedirectly out to the calling subscriber via link 16 without simultaneouspresentation of the message to the operator. This functionality issimilar to that utilized in a conventional automatic response unit inwhich a message is voiced out to the subscriber via the switch by theoperator's keying of a line designator on the terminal console screen,which causes the information highlighted on the operator's CRT to beaccessed and forwarded as a response message to the caller end, at thesame time releases the operator to handle another call. However, asignificant difference is the fact that, in accordance with the presentinvention, the message is not verbalized in a `mechanical` soundingmanner, but is controllably inflected in the voice of the operator whois servicing the call.

By supplementing the synthesized voice playback capability of unit 15with the auxiliary digital communication facility provided by modem 51,the present invention not only offers the customer a multipurposecommunication mechanism, but one which has the ability to significantlyreduce the on-line time of both the calling subscriber and the operator.Namely, where the subscriber's telephone set is equipped with digitalcommunication capability such as that employed in retail point-of-salescredit card verification devices, through an initial interrogationtransmission (poll) conducted by processor 41 through modem 51, unit 15can be effectively immediately apprised whether the call can be serviceddigitally. Because link 16 is connected exclusive of the operatorterminal, the polling of the calling subscriber's set can be effectedprior to operator becoming connected to the caller. If the pollinginquiry indicates that the calling subscriber's set . .possess.!..Iadd.possesses .Iaddend.digital capability, the operator may cause therequested information (response message) to be transmitted digitally, asthe call is released. The calling party sees the requested information(which is buffered in the customer's set) displayed immediately andhangs up, so that the time on-line is reduced and thereby accessibilityto the service facility enhanced.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is the digital interface circuitry through whichcommunication control signalling is conducted between the voice/dataresponse unit 15 and each of operator terminal 11 and switch 13.Specifically, each of digital communication links 17 and 18, throughwhich respective incoming and outgoing communication control messagesare coupled with switch 13, is coupled to a respective digital formatconversion unit 63 and 65, (both Motorola MC 68681) such as RS-232 andRS-422 or packet switch units (e.g X.25 protocol-compatible), dependingupon the manufacturer's switch type. Similarly, data link 14 is coupledto a dedicated digital format conversion unit 61 (MC68681) forinterfacing digital communication control signals from the operator'sterminal 11 with unit 15. Link 14 is read by control processor 41 todetermine the status of the operator's console, i.e. the status of anypending call. It also is used to control the operation of the unitduring the recording of response messages by the operator prior to theoperator placing the unit into service.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is a shown a diagrammatic illustration ofthe components of a telephone set possessing the capability ofconducting digital communications with unit 15 and thereby capable ofcapturing and displaying a digitally formatted response message (e.g. arequested telephone number from directory assistance). As shown in FIG.3, digital telephone set 21 comprises a standard telephone interfacecircuit 71, an associated modem 73, internal processor and memory 75,keyboard 77 and digital display 79. Such a set may be a conventionaldigital telephone unit such as that employed at point-of-sales terminalsfor retail credit data checks, such as a CAT-100 manufactured by OMRON.When a digital response message is forwarded from the service facilityover the telephone line 2 to set 21, it is coupled through the telephonecircuit 71 and modem 73 to be captured in a storage buffer, so that itmay be displayed on digital display 79. Since the digital telephone iscontrolled by the calling subscriber, the number is available as long asthe subscriber needs it until erased.

OPERATION Record Mode

The record mode is employed by the operator at the telephone servicefacility to record response messages that will be available for playbackduring the operator's work period. The storage and retrieval capabilityof voice/data response unit 15 allows the operator to record messagesdirectly from her terminal position by speaking into her headsetmicrophone and by placing the record unit in the record mode from theoperator terminal keyboard. In the course of preparing a file ofresponse messages, predetermined (e.g. supervisor approved/edited)response words and phrases are recorded by the operator as the operatorsupplies control signals from terminal 11 over data link 14. Controlprocessor 41 within unit 15 responds to the operator-source digitalmessage and sets up internal memory and digitizer circuitry forreceiving the operator-voice words and phrases. As pointed outpreviously, the words and phrases, particularly individual words, suchas numerical digits, are preferably repeated by the operator withdifferent inflections for each repeat utterance, so that when a responsemessage is assembled by concatenating individual words, the resultingphrase or sentence will have a realistic human voice characteristic.

The operator's voiced messages, when spoken into the headset microphone,are coupled over audio link 12 to digitizer 31 and controllably writteninto RAM 43. The particular response message codes and associatedresponse messages are generated such that processor 41 will know whereto store the response messages in RAM 43. Simply put, each responsemessage will be identified by a binary code coupled from the operatorterminal 11 over link 14. The operator then proceeds to speak themessage to be stored in memory. The beginning and end of a spokenmessage is preferably monitored by a voice detect circuit coupled withthe operator's headset, similar to that of the voice detector employedin the telephone operator voice storage and retrieval system describedin the above-referenced Winter et al patent. When the message iscomplete, processor 41 terminates the generation of address signals forthe storage of the message in RAM 43.

Once a complete response phrase/word file has been stored in RAM 43, itmay be controllably transferred to disk memory 45. Preferably, RAM 43contains those words and phrases which require effective immediateretrieval and playback to the calling party. Messages which have afairly long playback time, such as several sentences or paragraphs maybe permanently stored in disk memory 45 and read out therefrom duringthe playback mode.

Playback Mode

As pointed out previously, because of the versatility of the presentinvention, response messages which are accessed from memory may beplayed back in either audio format (verbalized out to the callingsubscriber) or forwarded in digital format (where the subscriber'stelephone set possesses digital storage and display capability).Moreover, verbalization of a message retrieved from memory may becoupled to either the operator's audio line, so that the operatorremains on line and can speak to the calling subscriber, or may besupplied directly to switch 13 via auxiliary link 16, permitting theoperator to release the call and attend to another call. Each of theserespective options will be discussed individually below.

MESSAGE VERBALIZATION THROUGH OPERATOR AUDIO LINK

As pointed out previously, the exemplary environment in which thepresent invention is employed is assumed to be that of a directoryassistance terminal position. When a directory assistance request callcomes into the operator terminal from switch 13, a communication controlsignal is supplied over input link 14 indicating that a call has beenreceived, which causes processor 41 to access a prescribed `greeting`message. This initial `greeting` message is applied to synthesizer ..13.!. .Iadd.33 .Iaddend.and thereby `voiced` out over audio link 12, sothat it may be verbalized to the calling subscriber through switch 13and, at the same time, to the operator headset. The `greeting` messagemay include whatever introductory phrase the directory assistancefacility desires plus another functional phrase, such as "directoryassistance, may I help you?". At this point, the operator listens to therequest voiced by the calling subscriber and causes directory assistancelistings to be displayed on her terminal screen. If the customer asksfor information which requires the operator to personally speakinformation to the calling subscriber, the operator may now conversewith the calling subscriber through audio link 14. If, in the course ofthe conversation, the operator determines that the information requestedcan be assembled from data stored in memory, so that it may besynthesized back to the calling subscriber and the operator may release,then the operator may key-in the appropriate response message accesscode through her terminal, such as through a conventional linedesignator on her terminal screen, which causes the message to beaccessed from memory and played out directly to the switch 13 throughsynthesizer 53 and auxiliary link 16. At the same time, the operatorreleases her position.

CPU 41 monitors link 14 for the identification of the message to beretrieved and an operator release code. Upon recognizing the operatorrelease (end-of-call) code on line 14, processor 41 prepares to answerthe next incoming call to the operator on audio link 12, just as it hasdone. The operator release signal on link 14 is also detected by switch13, which forwards a command on link 17 requesting processor 41 to causethe message to be coupled to auxiliary link 16 directly to the switch,so that it may be voiced out to the calling subscriber. If auxiliarylink 16 is presently busy, switch 13 waits for processor 41 to forward atransmission complete signal on link 18, advising the switch 13 that theauxiliary link 16 is no longer busy. Switch 13 then transmits a messageinitiate command on link 17 requesting a playback of the message onauxiliary link 16. Processor 41 then connects auxiliary link 16 to thecall that has just been released from the operator terminal 11 andswitch 13 forwards a command over link 17 for retransmission of themessage to the calling subscriber. In response to this command,processor 41 prepares or assembles a list of words and phrases to beconcatenated to provide the proper telephone message, taking intoaccount any necessary inflection associated with a set of codes for thatparticular message and selects the proper inflection phrase. Processor41 then sequentially accesses the components of the message from memory,so that they may be synthesized via synthesizer 53 and verbalized outover link 16 to the switch. When the message is complete, a transmissioncomplete signal is coupled over link 18 to switch 13, so that a new callmay be handled.

RESPONSE MESSAGE DIGITALLY FORMATTED

In those circumstances where the calling subscriber's telephone setpossesses digital storage and display capability, the choice of thedigital transmission option is a particularly attractive mechanism tospeed-up handling of the call. In this circumstance, when the call isintercepted, but prior to the operator coming on-line, digitalcommunications by way of modem 51 between the CPU 41 and thesubscriber's digital equipment advise the unit 15 that a responsemessage may be digitally formatted and forwarded to the callingsubscriber. Thereupon, an indication that the calling subscriberpossesses digital signalling capability is forwarded over link 18 toswitch 13 which, in turn, advises the operator terminal 11 via link 14.

In the same manner as answering a call, in a verbalizer format when theoperator releases and initiates a digital response message by keying ina digital response request via her terminal keyboard, voice/dataresponse unit 15 initially determines whether auxiliary link 16, throughwhich digital message are transmitted, is presently busy. If so, switch13 waits for the processor 41 to forward a message on link 18 indicatingthat the current message transmission which is occupying auxiliary link16 is complete. Upon receipt of this message, switch 13 sends a commandover link 16, requesting unit 15 to prepare to transmit the data indigital format to the calling subscriber. When the operator select theappropriate response phrase to be transmitted out to the callingsubscriber, processor 41 then awaits a transmission request from switch13, once switch 13 has connected audio link 16 to the calling line.Processor 41 then accesses the data and forwards it to the outgoingbuffer within modem 51, and causes the digital message to be transmittedto the calling subscriber via auxiliary link 16 through the switch andlink 13. Once the message has been digitally transmitted out, atransmission-complete signal is forwarded out over link 18 to theswitch, indicating that it may now prepare to handle a new call. Thedigital message itself will be heard as a brief garbled tone by thesubscriber and the response number will be immediately displayed on thedisplay of the subscriber's handset. The time required to complete thisoperation is on the order of a fraction of a second, as compared to thetime that is normally requested for the verbalizing of the responsemessage (here a telephone number). As a result, the service facility canrelease the call effectively immediately once the operator keys in thenumber requested by the calling subscriber.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, the presentinvention provides a mechanism for applying the `personalized` voiceattributes of the above-identified patented system to a synthesizedmessage storage and retrieval system in which customer response messages(such as a directory assistance-requested number) are generated byconcatenating a sequence of words that have been recorded in digitalmemory in the voice of the operator and selectively accessed from memoryin accordance with prescribed inflection (rising, falling, neutral)characteristics. By linking together phrases or words having selectivelychosen inflections in the voice of the operator, particularly sequencesof numbers (in reply to a directory assistance request), the resultingvocalized message will more naturally simulate the manner of speech ofthe operator and thereby provide a more realistic verbalization of themessage to the customer. As an additional feature, the communicationsfunctionality of present invention enables a message retrieved frommemory to be transmitted in digital format, so that it may be capturedand visually indicated to the customer via a digital display provided inthe calling subscriber's telephone equipment.

While we have shown and described an embodiment in accordance with thepresent invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limitedthereto but is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications asknown to a person skilled in the art, and we therefore do not wish to belimited to the details shown and described herein but intend to coverall such changes and modifications as are obvious to one of ordinaryskill in the art.

What is claimed:
 1. For use with an operator-assisted telephone servicefacility having an operator terminal through the operation of which anon-line operator services incoming calls that are coupled to saidfacility by way of a switch device to which a telephone link, over whichan incoming caller communicates with said facility, is connected, saidoperator terminal being coupled to said switch device by way of acommunications link therebetween, and wherein on-line participation byan on-line operator is required for effectively enabling an incomingcaller to reach a called destination, an arrangement for providing aresponse message to said incoming caller accessing said facilitycomprising:first operational means for storing a plurality of messagecomponents of which a response message may be comprised, in a form suchthat, when played back and transmitted to said incoming caller in asynthetically vocalized audio format, said response message effectivelycorresponds to the voice of said operator who is on-line with andservices an incoming call from said incoming caller; and secondoperational means, coupled to said first operational means and operablein conjunction with the on-line operator's release of the servicing ofsaid incoming call, for accessing from said first operational meansselected ones of said plurality of message components and causing saidselected message components to be assembled and transmitted over saidtelephone link as a synthetically vocalized audio response message tosaid incoming caller in the voice of said on-line operator who hasreleased from the servicing of said incoming call, so that it appears tosaid incoming caller that the released operator is still on-line with ..an.!. .Iadd.and .Iaddend.vocalizing said response message to saidincoming caller.Iadd., wherein said second operational means furthercomprises means for controllably causing said response message to betransmitted to said incoming caller in a digital communications format,whereby said response message may be captured and displayed to saidincoming caller by way of a digital communications device provided atthe position from which said incoming caller accesses saidfacility.Iaddend.. . .2. An arrangement according to claim 1, whereinsaid second operational means further comprises means for controllablycausing said response message to be transmitted to said incoming callerin a digital communications format, whereby said response message may becaptured and displayed to said incoming caller by way of a digitalcommunications device provided at the position from which said incomingcaller accesses said facility. .!.3. For use with an operator-assistedtelephone service facility having an operator terminal through theoperation of which an on-line operator services incoming calls that arecoupled to said facility by way or a switch device to which . .an.!..Iadd.a .Iaddend.telephone link, over which an incoming callercommunicates with said facility, is connected, said operator terminalbeing coupled to said switch device by way of a communications linetherebetween, and wherein on-line participation by an on-line operatoris required for effectively enabling an incoming caller to reach acalled destination, an arrangement for providing a response message tosaid incoming caller accessing said facility comprising:firstoperational means for storing a plurality of message components of whicha response message may be comprised; and second operational means,coupled to said first operational means and operable in conjunction withthe on-line operator's servicing of an incoming call, for accessing fromsaid first operational means selected ones of said plurality of messagecomponents and causing said selected message components to be assembledand transmitted over said telephone link as a response message to saidincoming caller in a selected one of a plurality of differentcommunication formats by way of which said response message is capableof being transmitted to said incoming caller, said second operationalmeans including means for selectively causing said response message tobe coupled to said communications link and thereby through said switchdevice to said telephone link for transmission to said incoming caller,and directly to said switch device, exclusive of said communicationslink, for transmission therefrom over said telephone link to saidincoming caller.
 4. An arrangement according to claim 3, wherein saidsecond operational means comprises means for selectively causing saidresponse message to be coupled in digital communications format directlyto said switch device, exclusive of said communications link, fortransmission therefrom to said incoming caller over said telephone link,whereby said response message may be captured and displayed to saidincoming caller by way of a digital communications device provided atthe position from which said incoming caller accesses said facility. 5.An arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said communications linkincludes a digital communications link portion by way of which digitalcommunication signals are transmitted between said operator terminal andsaid switch device, and an audio link portion by way of which voicecommunications between said operator and said incoming caller, via saidswitch device, are effected, and wherein said second operational meansincludes means for causing message components accessed from said firstoperational means to be coupled therefrom to said audio link portion ofsaid communications link for application to said switch device andtransmission therefrom over said telephone link as an audio responsemessage to said incoming caller vocalized in the voice of the operatorwho is on-line with and servicing an incoming call. . .6. For use withan operator-assisted telephone service facility having an operatorterminal through the operation of which an on-line operator servicesincoming calls that are coupled to said facility by way of a switchdevice to which a telephone link, over which an incoming callercommunicates with said facility, is connected, said operator terminalbeing coupled to said switch device by way of a communications linktherebetween, and wherein on-line participation by an on-line operatoris required for effectively enabling an incoming caller to reach acalled destination, a method for providing a response message to saidincoming caller accessing said facility comprising the steps of:(a)storing, in a storage device, a plurality of message components of whicha response message may be comprised, in a form such that, when playedback and transmitted to said incoming caller in a syntheticallyvocalized audio format, said response message effectively corresponds tothe voice of the operator who is on-line with and services incomingcalls; and (a) accessing, from said storage device, in the course of theon-line operator's release of the servicing of said incoming call,selected ones of said plurality of message components and causing saidselected message components to be assembled and transmitted over saidtelephone link as a synthetically vocalized audio response message tosaid incoming caller in the voice of said on-line operator who hasreleased from the servicing of said incoming call, so that it appears tosaid incoming caller that the released operator is still on-line withand vocalizing said response message to said incoming caller..!.7. . .Anarrangement according to claim 6, further comprising the step of (c)causing.!. .Iadd.For use with an operator-assisted telephone servicefacility having an operator terminal through the operation of which anon-line operator services incoming calls that are coupled to saidfacility by way of a switch device to which a telephone link, over whichan incoming caller communicates with said facility, is connected, saidoperator terminal being coupled to said switch device by way of acommunications link therebetween, and wherein on-line participation byan on-line operator is required for effectively enabling an incomingcaller to reach a called destination, a method for providing a responsemessage to said incoming caller accessing said facility comprising thesteps of:(a) storing, in a storage device, a plurality of messagecomponents of which a response message may be comprised, in a form suchthat, when played back and transmitted to said incoming caller in asynthetically vocalized audio format, said response message effectivelycorresponds to the voice of the operator who is on-line with andservices incoming calls; and (b) accessing, from said storage device, inthe course of the on-line operator's release of the servicing of saidincoming call, selected ones of said plurality of message components andcausing said selected message components to be assembled and transmittedover said telephone link as .Iaddend.said response message . .to betransmitted.!. to said incoming caller in a digital communicationsformat, whereby said response message may be captured and displayed tosaid incoming caller by way of a digital communications device providedat the position from which said incoming caller accesses said facility.8. For use with an operator-assisted telephone service facility havingan operator terminal through the operation of which an on-line operatorservices incoming calls that are coupled to said facility by way of aswitch device to which a telephone link, over which an incoming callercommunicates with said facility, is connected, said operator terminalbeing coupled to said switch device by way of a communications linktherebetween, and wherein on-line participation by an on-line operatoris required for effectively enabling an incoming caller to reach acalled destination, a method for providing a response message to saidincoming caller accessing said facility comprising the steps of:(a)storing, in a storage device, a plurality of message components of whicha response message may be comprised; and (b) accessing from said storagedevice, in the course of the on-line operator's servicing of an incomingcall, selected ones of said plurality of message components and causingsaid selected message components to be assembled and transmitted oversaid telephone link as a response message to said incoming caller in aselected one of a plurality of different communication formats by way ofwhich said response message is capable of being transmitted to saidincoming caller, step (b) including the step of selectively causing saidresponse message to be coupled to said communications link and therebythrough said switch device to said telephone link for transmission tosaid incoming caller, and directly to said switch device, exclusive ofsaid communications link, for transmission therefrom over said telephonelink to said incoming caller. A method according to claim 8, whereinstep (b) comprises the step of selectively causing said response messageto be coupled in digital communications format directly to said switchdevice, exclusive of said communications link, for transmissiontherefrom to said incoming caller over said telephone link, whereby saidresponse message may be captured and displayed to said incoming callerby way of a digital communications device provided at the position fromwhich said incoming caller accesses said facility.
 10. A methodaccording to claim 9, wherein said communications link includes adigital communications link portion by way of which digitalcommunication signals are transmitted between said operator terminal andsaid switch device, and an audio link portion by way of which voicecommunications between said operator and said incoming caller, via saidswitch device, are effected, and wherein said step (b) includes the stepof causing message, components accessed from said . .first operationalmeans.!. .Iadd.storage device .Iaddend.to be coupled therefrom to saidaudio link portion of said communications link for application to saidswitch device and transmission therefrom over said telephone link as anaudio response message to said incoming caller vocalized in the voice ofthe operator who is on-line with and servicing an incoming call..Iadd.11. For use with a telephone service facility having acommunications link connectable to an operator terminal from which anoperator may service a call, said call being coupled to said facility byway of a switch device to which a telephone link, over which a callingparty communicates with said facility, is connected, said operatorterminal being connectable to said switch device by way of saidcommunications link therebetween, and wherein said telephone servicefacility includes a first communication path which includes a firstchannel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereover and, byway of said switch device, to said telephone link through which saidcalling party is placed in communication with said telephone facility,and a second communication path which includes a second channel capableof transmitting an audio voice message thereover and, by way of saidswitch device to said telephone link through which said calling party isplaced in communication with said telephone facility, a method ofproviding vocalized messages by way of said switch device comprising thesteps of:(a) selectively supplying, over one of said first and secondcommunication paths, during the operator's servicing of an incoming calla first synthetically verbalized voice message, the contents of whichare associated with said calling party's attempt to reach a calledparty; and (b) selectively supplying, over the other of said first andsecond communication paths, after the operator's release of theservicing of said incoming call a second synthetically verbalized voicemessage, the contents of which are associated with said calling party'sattempt to reach said called party, wherein said first and second voicemessages are in the same voice as the operator who serviced saidincoming call. .Iaddend..Iadd.12. A method according to claim 11,wherein step (b) comprises causing said second synthetically verbalizedvoice message to be coupled through said switch device to said telephonelink to said calling party, exclusive of the communications link betweenthe operator terminal and said switch device. .Iaddend..Iadd.13. Amethod according to claim 11, wherein a synthetically verbalized voicemessage supplied in one of steps (a) and (b) is dependent upon the typeof call being serviced. .Iaddend..Iadd.14. For use with a telephoneservice facility of the type that is accessible by a calling party inthe course of the calling party's placing a call to said telephoneservice facility in the calling party's attempt to reach a called party,each of said calling and called parties being disposed at locationsother than the location of said telephone service facility, saidtelephone service facility having an operator communications devicethrough which an operator may service a call, said call being coupled tosaid facility by way of a switch device to which a telephone link, overwhich said calling party communicates with said facility, is connected,said operator communications device being coupled to said switch deviceby way of a communication link therebetween, and wherein said telephoneservice facility includes a first communication path which includes afirst channel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereoverand, by way of said switch device, to said telephone link through whichsaid calling party is placed in communication with said telephoneservice facility, and a second communication path which includes asecond channel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereoverand, by way of said switch device, to said telephone link through whichsaid calling party is placed in communication with said telephonefacility, a method of providing synthetically verbalized messages by wayof said switch device comprising the steps of:(a) selectively supplying,over one of said first and second communication paths, during theoperator's servicing of an incoming call a first syntheticallyverbalized voice message, the contents of which are associated with saidcalling party's attempt to reach said called party; and (b) selectivelysupplying, over the other of said first and second communication paths,after the operator's release of the servicing of said incoming call asecond synthetically verbalized voice message, the contents of which areassociated with said calling party's attempt to reach said called party,wherein said first and second voice messages are in the same voice asthe operator who serviced the incoming call. .Iaddend..Iadd.15. A methodaccording to claim 14, wherein a synthetically verbalized voice messagesupplied in one of steps (a) and (b) is dependent upon the type of callbeing serviced. .Iaddend..Iadd.16. A method according to claim 14,wherein step (b) comprises causing said second synthetically verbalizedvoice message to be coupled through said switch device to said telephonelink to said calling party, exclusive of the communications link betweenthe operator communications device and said switch device..Iaddend..Iadd.17. A method according to claim 14, further including thestep of storing, in a digital database, a plurality of messagecomponents of which a plurality of synthetically verbalized voicemessages may be comprised, in a form such that, when synthesized intoaudio format and played back and transmitted over either of said firstand second communication paths, the resulting synthetically verbalizedvoice messages effectively correspond to the same voice as the operatorwho serviced said incoming call, and wherein one of steps (a) and (b)comprises, in the course of servicing a call, accessing selected ones ofthe plurality of stored message components and causing the accessedselected message components to be assembled and synthesized into audioformat and transmitted over one of said first and second communicationpaths as a personalized synthetically verbalized voice message..Iaddend..Iadd.18. For use with a telephone service facility of the typethat is accessible by a calling party in the course of the callingparty's placing a call to said telephone service facility in the callingparty's attempt to reach a called party, each of said calling and calledparties being disposed at locations other than the location of saidtelephone service facility, said telephone service facility having anoperator communications device through which an operator may service acall, said call being coupled to said facility by way of a switch deviceto which a telephone link, over which said calling party communicateswith said facility, is connected, said operator communications devicebeing coupled to said switch device by way of a communications linktherebetween, and wherein said telephone service facility includes afirst communication path which includes a first channel capable oftransmitting an audio voice message thereover and, byway of said switchdevice, to said telephone link through which said calling party isplaced in communication with said telephone facility, and a secondcommunication path which includes a second channel capable oftransmitting an audio voice message thereover and, by way of said switchdevice, to said telephone link through which said calling party isplaced in communication with said telephone facility, a method ofproviding vocalized messages byway of said switch device comprising thesteps of: (a) storing a plurality of message components of which aplurality of voice messages may be comprised, in a form such that, whenassembled and transmitted to said calling party over either of saidfirst and second communication paths in a synthetically verbalized audioformat, the resulting synthetically verbalized voice message effectivelycorresponds to the voice of the operator who is servicing said callplaced by said calling party; (b) in the course of servicing a call,accessing selected ones of the plurality of message components stored instep (a), and causing the accessed selected message components to beassembled and transmitted over one of said first and secondcommunication paths as a first synthetically verbalized voice message,the contents of which are associated with said calling party's attemptto reach said called party; and (c) supplying, over the other of saidfirst and second communication paths, after the operator's release ofthe servicing of said call placed by said calling party, a secondsynthetically verbalized voice message, the contents of which areassociated with said calling party's attempt to reach said called party,wherein said first and second voice messages are in the same voice asthe operator who serviced said call placed by said calling party..Iaddend..Iadd.19. A method according to claim 18, wherein step (c)comprises causing said second synthetically verbalized voice message tobe coupled through said switch device to said telephone link to saidcalling party, exclusive of the communications link between the operatorcommunications device and said switch device. .Iaddend..Iadd.20. Amethod according to claim 18, wherein a synthetically verbalized voicemessage supplied in one of steps (b) and (c) is dependent upon the typeof call being serviced. .Iaddend..Iadd.21. For use with a telephoneservice facility of the type that is accessible by a calling party inthe course of the calling party's placing a call to said telephoneservice facility in the calling party's attempt to reach a called party,each of said calling and called parties being disposed at locationsother than the location of said telephone service facility, saidtelephone service facility having a communications link connectable toan operator terminal from which an operator may service a call, saidcall being coupled to said facility by way of a switch device to which atelephone link, over which said calling party communicates with saidfacility, is connected, the communications link with said operatorterminal being coupled to said switch device, and wherein said telephoneservice facility includes a first communication path which includes afirst channel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereoverand, by way of said switch device, to said telephone link through whichsaid calling party is placed in communication with said telephonefacility, and a second communication path which includes a secondchannel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereover and, byway of said switch device, to said telephone link through which saidcalling party is placed in communication with said telephone facility,an apparatus for providing synthetically verbalized voice messages byway of said switch device comprising: a message store operative to storea plurality of message components of which a plurality of syntheticallyverbalized voice messages may be comprised, in a form such that, whenassembled and transmitted to said calling party over either of saidfirst and second communication paths in a synthetically verbalized audioformat, the resulting synthetically verbalized voice messageseffectively correspond to the voice of operator at said terminal; and acommunications controller which is operative, in the course of servicingsaid call, to controllably access selected ones of the plurality ofstored message components and to cause the accessed selected messagecomponents to be assembled and supplied over one of said first andsecond communication paths as a first synthetically verbalized voicemessage the contents of which are associated with said calling party'sattempt to reach said called party, and which is operative to supply,over the other of said first and second communication paths, a secondsynthetically verbalized voice message the contents of which areassociated with said calling party's attempt to reach said called party,in the same voice as the first message assembled and supplied by saidcommunications controller. .Iaddend..Iadd.22. An apparatus according toclaim 21, wherein said communications controller is operative to causesaid second synthetically verbalized voice message to be coupled throughsaid switch device to said telephone link to said calling party,exclusive of the communications link between the operator terminal andsaid switch device. .Iaddend..Iadd.23. An apparatus according to claim21, wherein a supplied voice message is dependent upon the type of callbeing serviced. .Iaddend..Iadd.24. An apparatus according to claim 21,wherein said communications controller is further operative to cause amessage to be coupled in a digital communications format through saidswitch device to said telephone link, whereby said message may becaptured and displayed to said calling party by way of a digitalcommunications device provided at a position from which said callingparty accesses said facility. .Iaddend..Iadd.25. For use with atelephone service facility of the type that is accessible by a callingparty in the course of the calling party's placing a call to saidtelephone service facility in the calling party's attempt to reach acalled party, each of said calling and called parties being disposed atlocations other than the location of said telephone service facility,said telephone service facility having a communications link connectablewith an operator terminal from which an operator may service a call,said call being coupled to said facility by way of a switch device towhich a telephone link, over which said calling party communicates withsaid facility, is connected, the communications link with said operatorterminal being coupled to said switch device, and wherein said telephoneservice facility includes a first communication path which includes afirst channel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereoverand, by way of said switch device, to said telephone link through whichsaid calling party may be placed in communication with said telephonefacility, and a second communication path which includes a secondchannel capable of transmitting an audio voice message thereover and, byway of said switch device, to said telephone link through which saidcalling party may be placed in communication with said telephonefacility, a method of providing synthetically verbalized voice messagesby way of said switch device comprising the steps of:(a) in response toan incoming call from said calling party accessing said telephoneservice facility for the purpose of being able to place a call to saidcalled party, supplying, over one of said first and second communicationpaths, a first audio message in a synthesized voice, the contents ofsaid first audio message including information associated with saidcalling party's attempt to reach said called party; and (b) subsequentto a reply by the calling party to the first audio message supplied instep (a), supplying over the other of said first and secondcommunication paths, a second audio message in a synthesized voice, thecontents of said second audio message including information associatedwith said calling party's attempt to reach said called party, whereinsaid first and second audio messages are in the same voice as theoperator who serviced said incoming call placed by said calling party..Iaddend..Iadd. . A method according to claim 25, wherein a synthesizedvoice message supplied in one of steps (a) and (b) is dependent upon thetype of call being serviced. .Iaddend..Iadd.27. A method according toclaim 25, wherein step (b) comprises causing said second audio messageto be coupled through said switch device, to said telephone link to saidcalling party, exclusive of the communications link between the operatorterminal and said switch device. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. A method accordingto claim 25, further including the step of storing, in a digitaldatabase, a plurality of message components of which a plurality ofsynthesized voice messages may be comprised, in a form such that, whensynthesized into audio format and played back and transmitted overeither of said first and second communication paths, the resultingsynthesized voice messages effectively correspond to the voice of theoperator at said operator terminal, and wherein one of steps (a) and (b)comprises, in the course of servicing a call, accessing selected ones ofthe plurality of stored message components and causing the accessedselected message components to be assembled and synthesized into audioformat and transmitted over one of said first and second communicationpaths as a personalized synthetically reproduced audio voice message..Iaddend..Iadd.29. For use with a telephone service facility of the typethat is accessible by a calling party in the course of the callingparty's placing a call to said telephone service facility in the callingparty's attempt to reach a called party, each of said calling and calledparties being disposed at locations other than the location of saidtelephone service facility, said telephone service facility having acommunications link connectable with an operator terminal from which anoperator may service a call, said call being coupled to said facility byway of a switch device to which a telephone link, over which a partycommunicates with said facility, is connected, the communications linkwith said operator terminal being coupled to said switch device, amethod of providing vocalized messages by way of said switch devicecomprising the steps of:(a) providing a message database, the messagedata contents of which are capable of being assembled into a pluralityof different messages, respectively associated with said calling party'sattempt to be placed in communication with said called party; (b)providing a first communication path which includes a first channelcapable of transmitting an audio voice message thereover and, by way ofsaid switch device, to said telephone link through which said callingparty is placed in communication with said telephone facility, and asecond communication path which includes a second channel capable oftransmitting an audio voice message thereover and, by way of said switchdevice, to said telephone link through which said calling party isplaced in communication with said telephone facility, and wherein eachof said first and second communication paths is arranged to beselectively coupled to said message database and to convey asynthetically verbalized message that has been assembled from thecontents of said database in a personalized operator representativevoice such that personalized voice messages conveyed over each of saidfirst and second communication paths are in the same personalizedoperator representative voice as said operator at said operatorterminal; (c) supplying, by way of one of said first and secondcommunication paths to said calling party, an interrogation message fromsaid message database, the contents of which request information fromsaid calling party associated with the calling party's attempt to beplaced in communication with said called party; and (d) subsequent toreceipt of a reply message from said calling party to the interrogationmessage supplied in step (c), supplying a further message to saidcalling party by way of one of said first and second communication pathsduring a period of time other than when said operator is servicing acall, thereby alleviating the operator from being required to servicesaid call on a continuous basis from the beginning of the call tocompletion, the contents of said further message containing informationwhich, when employed in the course of the calling party's attempt toreach said called party, will facilitate the calling party's beingplaced in communication with said called party. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. Amethod according to claim 29, wherein a message supplied in one of steps(c) and (d) is dependent upon the type of call being serviced..Iaddend..Iadd.31. A method according to claim 29, wherein at least oneof steps (c) and (d) comprises causing a message to be coupled throughsaid switch device to said telephone link to said calling party,exclusive of the communications link between the operator terminal andsaid switch device. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. For use with a telephone servicefacility of the type that is accessible by a calling party in the courseof the calling party's placing a call to said telephone service facilityin the calling party's attempt to reach a called party, each of saidcalling and called parties being disposed at locations other than thelocation of said telephone service facility, said telephone servicefacility having a communications link connectable with an operatorterminal from which an operator may service a call, said call beingcoupled to said facility by way of a switch device to which a telephonelink, over which a party communicates with said facility, is connected,the communications link with said operator terminal being coupled tosaid switch device, an apparatus for providing vocalized messages by wayof said switch device comprising: a message database, the message datacontents of which are capable of being assembled into a plurality ofdifferent messages, respectively associated with said calling party'sattempt to be placed in communication with said called party; a firstcommunication path which includes a first channel capable oftransmitting an audio voice message thereover and, by way of said switchdevice, to said telephone link through which said calling party isplaced in communication with said telephone facility; a secondcommunication path which includes a second channel capable oftransmitting an audio voice message thereover and, by way of said switchdevice, to said telephone link through which said calling party isplaced in communication with said telephone facility; and acommunications controller, coupled to each of said first and secondcommunication paths and to said message database, and operative to causea message that has been assembled from the contents of said database tobe synthetically verbalized in a personalized operator representativevoice such that personalized voice messages conveyed over each of saidfirst and second communication paths are in the same personalizedoperator representative voice as said operator at said operatorterminal, said communications controller being operative to supply, byway of one of said first and second communication paths to said callingparty, an interrogation message the contents of which requestinformation from said calling party associated with the calling party'sattempt to be placed in communication with said called party and,subsequent to receipt of a reply message from said calling party to theinterrogation message, supplying a further message to said calling partyby way of one of said first and second communication paths during aperiod of time other than when said operator is servicing a call,thereby alleviating the operator from being required to service saidcall on a continuous basis from the beginning of the call to completion,the contents of said further message containing information which, whenemployed in the course of the calling party's attempt to reach saidcalled party, will facilitate the calling party's being placed incommunication with said called party. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. An apparatusaccording to claim 32, wherein a message supplied by said communicationscontroller is dependent upon the type of call being serviced..Iaddend..Iadd.34. An apparatus according to claim 32, wherein saidcommunications controller is operative to cause a message to be coupledthrough said switch device to said telephone link to said calling party,exclusive of the communications link between the operator terminal andsaid switch device. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. An apparatus according to claim32, wherein said communications controller is operative to cause amessage to be coupled in a digital communications format through saidswitch device to said telephone link, whereby said message may becaptured by and displayed to said calling party by way of a digitalcommunications device provided at a location by way of which saidcalling party is in communication with said telephone service facility..Iaddend..Iadd.36. For use with a telephone service facility having anoperator terminal through the operation of which an on-line operator mayservice incoming calls that are coupled to said facility by way of aswitch device to which a telephone link, over which an incoming callercommunicates with said facility, is connected, an arrangement forproviding a response message to said incoming caller accessing saidfacility comprising:first operational means for storing a plurality ofmessage components of which a response message may be comprised, in aform such that, when played back and transmitted to said incoming callerin a synthetically vocalized audio format, said response messageeffectively corresponds to the appropriately inflected voice of anoperator who said incoming caller perceived to be on-line with andservicing an incoming call from said incoming caller; and secondoperational means, coupled to said first operational means and operablein conjunction with the servicing of said incoming call, for accessingfrom said first operational means selected ones of said plurality ofmessage components and causing said selected message components to beassembled and transmitted over said telephone link when said operator isoff-line as a synthetically vocalized audio response message to saidincoming caller in the appropriately inflected voice of said operatorwho said incoming caller perceived to be on-line with and servicing saidincoming call from said incoming caller, so that it appears to saidincoming caller that the operator is actually on-line with andvocalizing said response message to said incoming caller, wherein saidsecond operational means further comprises means for controllablycausing said response message to be transmitted to said incoming callerin a digital communications format, whereby said response message may becaptured and displayed to said incoming caller by way of acommunications device provided at the position from which said incomingcaller accesses said facility. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. For use with atelephone service facility having an operator terminal through theoperation of which an on-line operator may service incoming calls thatare coupled to said facility by way of a switch device to which atelephone link, over which an incoming caller communicates with saidfacility, is connected, said operator terminal being coupled to saidswitch device by way of a communications link therebetween, anarrangement for providing response message to said incoming calleraccessing said facility comprising:first operational means for storing aplurality of message components of which a response message may becomprised; and second operational means, coupled to said firstoperational means and operable in conjunction with the servicing of anincoming call, for accessing from said first operational means selectedones of said plurality of message components and causing said selectedmessage components to be assembled and transmitted over said telephonelink as a response message to said incoming caller in a selected one ofa plurality of different communication formats by way of which saidresponse message is capable of being transmitted to said incomingcaller, said second operational means including means for selectivelycausing said response message to be coupled to said communications linkand thereby through said switch device to said telephone link fortransmission to said incoming caller, and directly to said switchdevice, exclusive of said communications link, for transmissiontherefrom over said telephone link to said incoming caller..Iaddend..Iadd.38. An arrangement according to claim 37, wherein saidsecond operational means further comprises means for selectively causingsaid response message to be coupled in digital communications formatdirectly to said switch device, exclusive of said communications link,for transmission therefrom to said incoming caller over said telephonelink, whereby said response message may be captured and displayed tosaid incoming caller by way of a communications device provided at theposition from which said incoming caller accesses said facility..Iaddend..Iadd.39. An arrangement according to claim 38, wherein saidcommunications link includes a digital communications link portion byway of which digital communication signals are transmitted between saidoperator terminal and said switch device, and an audio link portion byway of which voice communications between said operator and saidincoming caller, via said switch device, are effected, and wherein saidsecond operational means includes means for causing message componentsaccessed from said first operational means to be coupled therefrom tosaid audio link portion of said communications link for application tosaid switch device and transmission therefrom over said telephone linkas an audio response message to said incoming caller vocalized in theappropriately inflected voice of the operator who said incoming callerperceives to be on-line with and servicing said incoming call from saidincoming caller. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. For use with a telephone servicefacility having an operator terminal through the operation of which anon-line operator may service incoming calls that are coupled to saidfacility by way of a switch device to which a telephone link, over whichan incoming caller communicates with said facility, is connected, amethod for providing a response message to said incoming calleraccessing said facility comprising the steps of:(a) storing, in astorage device, a plurality of message components of which a responsemessage may be comprised, in a form such that, when played back andtransmitted to said incoming caller in a synthetically vocalized audioformat, said response message effectively corresponds to theappropriately inflected voice of an operator who said incoming callerperceives to be on-line with and servicing incoming calls; and (b)accessing, from said storage device, in the course of the servicing ofan incoming call, selected ones of said plurality of message componentsand causing said selected message components to be assembled andtransmitted over said telephone link when said operator is off-line assaid response message to said incoming caller in a digitalcommunications format, whereby said response message may be captureddisplayed to said incoming caller by way of communications deviceprovided at the position from which said incoming caller accesses saidfacility. .Iaddend..Iadd.41. For use with a telephone service facilityhaving an operator terminal through the operation of which an on-lineoperator may service incoming calls that are coupled to said facility byway of a switch device to which a telephone link, over which an incomingcaller communicates with said facility, is connected, said operatorterminal being coupled to said switch device by way of a communicationslink therebetween, a method for providing a response message to saidincoming caller accessing said facility comprising the steps of: (a)storing, in a storage device, a plurality of message components of whicha response message may be comprised; and (b) accessing from said storagedevice, in the course of the servicing of an incoming call, selectedones of said plurality of message components and causing said selectedmessage components to be assembled and transmitted over said telephonelink as a response message to said incoming caller in a selected one ofa plurality of different communication formats by way of which saidresponse message is capable of being transmitted to said incomingcaller, step (b) including the step of selectively causing said responsemessage to be coupled to said communications link and thereby throughsaid switch device to said telephone link for transmission to saidincoming caller, and directly to said switch device, exclusive of saidcommunications link, for transmission therefrom over said telephone linkto said incoming caller. .Iaddend..Iadd.42. A method according to claim41, wherein step (b) further comprises the step of selectively causingsaid response message to be coupled in digital communications formatdirectly to said switch device, exclusive of said communications link,for transmission therefrom to said incoming caller over said telephonelink, whereby said response message may be captured and displayed tosaid incoming caller by way of a communications device provided at theposition from which said incoming caller accesses said facility..Iaddend..Iadd.43. A method according to claim 42, wherein saidcommunications link includes a digital communications link portion byway of which digital communication signals are transmitted between saidoperator terminal and said switch device, and an audio link portion byway of which voice communications between said operator and saidincoming caller, via said switch device, are effected, and wherein saidstep (b) includes the step of causing message components accessed fromsaid storage device to be coupled therefrom to said audio link portionof said communications link for application to said switch device andtransmission therefrom over said telephone link as an audio responsemessage to said incoming caller vocalized in the appropriately inflectedvoice of the operator who said incoming caller perceives to be on-linewith and servicing said incoming calls from said incoming caller..Iaddend.